It seems to me that we have come to point where further argumentation is
not likely to elucidating on this issue (the meaning of arsenokoites and
Boswell's analysis of it). All the major arguments have been brought
forth and discussed, and the remaining ones are really quite minor and
subsidary to the main point.
One thing is clear, however, is that no one seems willing to defend the
specifics of Boswell's analysis, frankly because they are indefensible.
His linguistic analysis is fundamentally unsound; his contextual analysis
is arbitrary and fanciful; and his argument from silence is weak and
misleading.
My conclusion is that the term, arsenokoites, on its face, broadly and
euphemistically refers to those (males) having sex with males. Probably
a neologism from the time of Paul, if not from Paul himself, it trans-
parently refers to Lv18:22 & 20:13. Therefore, its origin, temporally
and literarily, readily explains why its circulation was limited and
inappropriate for polemical writings.
Now, there have been suggestions that this term is limited to a certain
class of homosexuals whose behavior is independently sinful, such as male
prostitutes, but there really isn't anything to justify this contention
from the context. Indeed, this whole exercise strikes me as a cramped,
tendentious reading of the text.
Stephen Carlson
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